Fuji donates bikes to disaster relief workers in SE Asia

Fuji of Philadelphia will donate 50 bikes each year for the next three years. The company hopes these bikes will help nurses and health care service providers reach the more remote and disaster-ridden areas in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the other countries whose coastlines were devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami. Previously on BikeBiz.com, the main bicycle refurbishment organisations said they would not ship to SE Asia because of the indigenous bicycle industries in those countries and prior import restrictions.

In areas where roads and airstrips may have been destroyed, Fuji's utilitarian-style mountain bikes will assist relief workers who may not otherwise be able to reach some of the more remote victims of the tragedy, said a company statement.

"As with countless other people from all over the globe, the employees at Fuji responded to the urgent need for assistance after finding themselves feeling helpless, not knowing the best way to help the victims of the tragedy," said the Fuji statement.

The tragedy is so unfathomable. The images are so heart-wrenching. We just all felt that we needed to do something and instead of sitting around talking about it, we developed a plan, said Karen Bliss, Fuji Bicycles marketing manager.

Fuji Bicycles will join the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in getting the bicycles to Asia through the "proper channels."

Aimee Gauthier, African Program Manager at ITDP, said:

Bicycles are extremely valuable in helping deliver health care, especially when medical staff has to reach many people in difficult conditions. We are working with Fuji to help get the bicycles directly to the relief workers who need them most.

ITDP is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable and equitable transportation in developing countries, including providing health care workers with bicycles, improving conditions for cyclists, and improving access to better quality bicycles.